Careers

Your son or daughter will be making decisions that will have a huge impact on their future and our aim is to support students as much as possible so that they can make informed decisions about their future.

We offer a careers programme which gives students an opportunity to explore the world of work, discover what skills they need for the world of work and what skills they already have that they can build upon.

Click here to view our careers programme >>

If any students would like to request an appointment with the Careers Advisor or have any questions about our Careers programme, please contact Mrs Durrans the Careers Leader for Bingley Grammar School:

Careers & Work Experience Officer - Mrs Durrans.
Tel: 01274 807700
Email: joanna.durrans@bingleygrammar.org

Unifrog - Bingley Grammar subscribes to this brilliant web site which helps students to find the right College Course, University Course or live Apprenticeship vacancy quickly. It compares courses and vacancies by lots of different factors including distance from home, social life and salary. Unifrog is the easy way for students to choose the best Courses and Apprenticeships for them and for teachers to track their progress.

Parents and students can log on together, so they can become part of the careers guidance process >>

General Careers Advice

There is so much information out there regarding careers and next steps, that it can be daunting. Here are some useful websites to help find out about different careers, different routes in to those and information about the labour market:

www.nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk - Find information about specific careers e.g. entry requirements, rates of pay, job descriptions etc in the 'job profiles' section. The web site is designed to inspire young people to make more effective skills, career, work and life choices. You can also look at what sort of jobs may suit you.

www.icould.com – Explore different types of jobs, what jobs you could do from different subjects, information about jobs, University, Apprenticeships and much more. There is also a link to the Buzz Quiz which helps you discover what type of career may match your personality.

www.prospects.ac.uk - There is a wide selection of job profiles that give information about the job, what you would do, the pay to expect, how to get in to that job and other similar jobs. If you create an account, you can also do the quiz to see what sort of careers you may find interesting.

www.ucasprogress.com - Find out about your options after school, college, or sixth form. With lots of information about the routes available to you, to help you decide what to do next. Search for local courses e.g. A Levels, BTECS, Degrees and NVQs.

www.direct.gov.uk – The government website has an extensive section on employment covering things such as vacancies, the law on minimum wage, tax payments when you work etc.

futuregoals.co.uk - information about careers within our region and what they may be in the future. Click here for local labour market information >>

www.notgoingtouni.co.uk - Information about apprenticeships, jobs, employment & training, sponsored degrees, gap year, work experience and advice centre.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships combine work and study. You will be employed by a company to do a real job whilst studying for a formal qualification. It gives you the opportunity to gain the skills and experience required for many different careers and they are ideal if you have a clear career path that you would like to pursue, or if you like practical 'on the job' training combined with study either through college or a training provider. This way you get to ‘earn while you learn’.

www.getingofar.gov.uk – The Government have a new Apprenticeship campaign called fire it up. You can find out what it’s really like to be an apprentice, search and apply for apprenticeships here and if you create an account then you can receive notifications when a new apprenticeship becomes available.

amazingapprenticeships.com -
Find loads of information for parents and students about apprenticeships, including how to apply for an apprenticeship as well as hearing from students talking about what it’s really like to be an apprentice. Like the website above there is a link to the government website where you can set up an account to apply for apprenticeships, and subscribe to email updates.

ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk - Various guides about the industries that you could have an apprenticeship within and read reviews about the biggest companies and the best companies for apprenticeships. You can also search and apply for apprenticeships.

apprenticeshipguide.co.uk -
As the name suggests this is a guide to all you need to know about apprenticeships. You can find out about apprenticeships in different industries or if you don’t know what industry would be of interest there is the option to search by the different school subjects.

Volunteering & Gap Years

Volunteering can be a great way to gain new skills and experience, and depending on the role, can look great on your CV or UCAS application.

www.do-it.org.uk – Search for volunteering vacancies here.

Some students may decide they want to take a 'gap year' before embarking on their post 18 education - Real Gap gives lots of information and advice on different options available to you:

www.realgap.co.uk - Gap Year information and advice.

Extra-curricular activities including sports, summer camps and work experience are a great way to build your employability skills as well as skills that help your lifelong learning.

www.ncsyes.co.uk – The National Citizen Service, is a brilliant experience, where you can build your confidence and life skills, this includes living away from home for a week whilst making great friends.